More Information

Online

Hoosiers come up big down the stretch

Indiana ended the game on a 10-0 burst to beat Temple 58-52 Sunday at Dayton to advance to Thursday's Sweet 16 against Syracuse.

Here are some of the keys to the victory:

1. Crunch-time toughness

When the Hoosiers absolutely had to get it done down the stretch, they did, from Christian Watford's block to Victor Oladipo's victory clinching three-pointer.

2. Free throws

Indiana kept attacking the basket. It forced 18 fouls that produced 20 free throw opportunities. The Hoosiers made 16 of them. Cody Zeller led the way by going 7-for-8. Christian Watford was 5-for-6.

3. 2nd-half defense

It took a half, but IU finally figured out how to stop Temple guard Khalif Wyatt. He was 4-for-10 for 11 points in the second half after going 8-for-14 for 20 points in the first half. The Hoosiers held the Owls to 32.1 percent second-half shooting, 33.9 percent for the game. Temple scored just 23 points in the last 20 minutes.

4. 2nd-half three-point shooting

Indiana went 3-for-6 from beyond the arc in the second half, getting three-pointers from Jordan Hulls, Will Sheehey and, of course, Oladipo. That helped make up for the 1-for-7 effort in the first half.

5. Big players playing big

Oladipo and Zeller were huge down the stretch. Oladipo finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. He also helped fluster Wyatt in the closing minutes. Zeller had 15 points and six rebounds, and was nearly perfect from the free throw line.